1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the art of electrical connectors and, particularly, to a guide means for a complementary mating connector or other connecting device that facilitates guiding a pair of connectors into mated condition as well as securing the connectors in the mated condition.
2. Description of Related Art
A typical server unit includes a backplane for installation and maintenance purposes, wherein one side of the backplane is electrically connected to the motherboard of the server while the other side comprises a plurality of electrical connecting portions for hot-plugging to storage devices. The housing of the server unit comprises a plurality of slots for correspondingly receiving storage devices therein for allowing each storage device to be appropriately connected to electrical connecting portions in the backplane of the server unit. For the convenience of adding storage devices or other electronic devices, space is reserved in the front of the server unit. However, the enclosure for such a space does not provide retention mechanisms for the added devices, thus, when installing an electronic device from the front of the server unit, it is often difficult to align the electronic device with the electrical connecting portion located in the backplane of the server unit for electrical connection due to the inherent physical difference existing therebetween, resulting in a poor quality electrical connection when the connectors are not properly connected.
In addition, in some applications, the locations of electrical connectors often make it very difficult to accurately align a pair of mating connectors prior to or during mating. This particularly may be a problem where at least one connector in a mateable pair is mounted to a panel that prevents accurate visual alignment during mating, or the connector is in a cumbersome or awkward location. Consequently, a guiding means on one or both of the connectors is often desirable to facilitate either blind mating or mating of the connectors in awkward locations.
Taiwanese Patent Publication No. 399802 discloses a technique in guiding connectors for electrical connection, wherein a guide device is inserted into a socket to guide the connector of a sub-board into the socket. However, it is difficult to manufacture such guide devices for small-size sockets, and, also, there is hardly any tolerance available since such a guide device is to be installed in the socket.
Presently, there is a so-called built-in electrical connector available on the consumer market to increase the convenience of using electronic cards. Such connectors are typically welded to the backplane of an electronic device, and users have to exert care during insertion of an electronic card to prevent damage to the connector or the electronic card due to incomplete or erroneous insertion.
Taiwanese Utility Model No. M288034 discloses a guide device for guiding connectors of electronic cards comprising a mating electronic card connector for guiding the frame body of the electronic card and two arms each disposed on both sides of the frame body to secure the connector. These types of connector structures provided with clamping arms for fixing the connector often have insufficient stability that can adversely affect the performance of the electronic card, or exhibit the disadvantage of wasting material if the length of the arms is to be extended to increase stability.
Other connectors require some form of guiding mechanisms to guide the pair of connectors into mated condition and, thereby, ensure that the terminals are properly aligned and interconnected. For instance, one connector of a connector assembly may include one or more guide holes for receiving complementary guide pins projecting from the mating connector. Such guiding mechanisms require space or occupy a considerable area of the connectors.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop a novel and improved mechanism that can solve the drawbacks of the prior art discussed above.